Mandarin falls short of Tocoi Creek in the playoffs

By Team Reports Feb 12, 2024, 10:47am

Recap: Mandarin Mustangs vs. Tocoi Creek Toros

It's hard to turn regular season success into postseason wins, a fact the Mandarin Mustangs can now relate to. They took a 63-56 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Toros on Wednesday. Having run the score up that high, both teams might be doing some extra defensive drills very soon.

Despite the loss, Mandarin still got an impressive performance from Ny'keria Thomas, who scored 24 points along with seven rebounds and three steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Thomas has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Mia Chandler, who scored 11 points along with six rebounds.

Mandarin struggled to work together and finished the game with only four assists. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Tocoi Creek racked up 13 assists.

Tocoi Creek found their leader in underclassman Audrey Beyer, who scored 25 points along with seven rebounds and two steals. Beyer is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last 11 games she's played. Another player making a difference was Gabi Iturralde, who scored 13 points along with six steals and five rebounds.

Mandarin's loss dropped their record down to 11-7. As for Tocoi Creek, the win was the fifth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 20-6.

Mandarin does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Tocoi Creek, they will take on Atlantic Coast at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Atlantic Coast is strutting with some offensive muscle, as they've averaged 54.9 points per game this season.